GREAT NEWS…. Gaia is HOME!! Gaia was rescued from the streets of Tunisia. This last weekend she joined the loving home of Joan and Hillary Perlman of Lake Bluff, IL.
Joan and Hillary were very excited to meet Gaia. The bond was instant and it didn’t take long for them to know that this was their girl.
Since joining the Perlman’s it’s as if she was destined to be with them – as if she had lived with them forever. She already met neighbors and their dogs and been to the local dog park. It’s safe to say she is living large as a cherished and loved family member. The way it should be!
You too can save a life.
#ISavedaLife #ISDF. #AdoptdontShop
I am named Gaia, after Greek mythology’s mother of all, the Earth. I’m a 2 year old Tunisian beauty, searching for my home in the world, and I hear it is waiting for me somewhere in America.
When I was just a tiny puppy, a shepherd found me all alone in a field where village children had discarded me. They had stolen me from my mother because they thought I’d make a cute toy, but they soon tired of my hungry cries. The shepherd cared for me well on his humble means, but when I went into my first heat, I ran away with a pack of street dogs, and soon gave birth to 3 tiny puppies of my own. We had to scavenge from trash and hide from the police, who were always ready to shoot us, just for being dogs. On a particularly cold and rainy night, one of my daughters was shot right in front of my eyes.
My surviving daughters Douda and Nina and I started following an old homeless man who took pity on us and let us follow him on his daily trail. He used to dig through the rubbish bins too high for us to reach and share whatever meager scraps of food he found. Sadly, the old man fell ill and disappeared, leaving us to fend for ourselves. All three of us were pregnant and starving when we met our kind rescuer who started feeding our little pack. Douda died after giving birth to 8 puppies, and soon all of her puppies died too. Our rescuer stepped in to save Nina and me from similar fates. She brought us to to a shelter where we were spayed and vaccinated and have been living since.
My rescuer says I have a lovely temperament, social and sweet. I get along with everyone and will make an excellent family dog with training and daily exercise. If you look at me now, you would never guess I’d gone through such hardships. My admirers say I’m stunning with my thick wavy white coat, warm brown and black accents, and radiant smile. (The other dog in my photos is my own beautiful mother, Gloria. We were reunited in rescue, and I hope one Day she can come to America too.) I just know that I’m happy, to have food to eat and freedom from fear. I will be even happier to have a loving family and home of my own.
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Tunisia is a country in North Africa, stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the Sahara. Tunisia has more freedoms than its neighbors, but it’s not a lucky country for dogs. Few Tunisians keep dogs as pets, some are worked on farms or chained to roofs as guard dogs, but most are ownerless scavengers, roaming the streets, searching for food and risking death daily from disease, violence, and purposeful, inhumane killing by the police and city workers.
Tunisia’s local dogs are called Atlas dogs, after the mountain range spanning Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. For thousands of years, the Berber people used these dogs as flock guards and for hunting. Like most Atlas dogs, Gaia is active and adaptable, sensitive and smart, and ready to be your loyal companion.
If you are interested in adopting GAIA, please contact Dawn Trimmel at info@istreetdog.com. You can also find our adoption application here.